George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 52

< 51 >

“Nice to meet you. George W. Bush.”

“Jiang Zemin, it’s a pleasure.”

The U.S.-China summit, ostensibly a simple friendly meeting, was held in Hong Kong. Bush had specifically requested that it be held there, and Jiang Zemin, of course, had no reason to refuse since it was within China.

However, Jiang Zemin suspected there was a reason Hong Kong was chosen. News articles mentioned that Bush had canceled his long-awaited short vacation due to Iran’s intention to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization [SCO, a Eurasian political, economic, and security alliance]. Considering his stay in China was three nights and four days, Jiang Zemin cautiously speculated that the disruption of his vacation might have led him to choose Hong Kong, a resort city.

Of course, even this was a far-fetched idea, but there were no other clues to go on.

“The 21st century is an era of peace, unlike the 20th century. We welcome your visit to China for the purpose of friendship.”

*Friendship*, Jiang Zemin thought, finding it absurd even as he said it. Where in the world of diplomacy was there a visit purely for friendship? There had to be another reason, but he couldn’t grasp what it was.

Surely, Bush wouldn’t come all the way here to try and wedge himself between Russia and China. And even if that were the case, why would he come himself? He might as well threaten them through India, like last time.

India was a problem, but he couldn’t bring it up right away. This was supposed to be a ‘friendship’ visit. The topic of India could only be broached when the conversation had matured. There was an order to everything, and the same principle applied to conversations.

Therefore, even the meeting in front of the cameras ended with only formal greetings and implications of fostering friendship.

“So, he’s definitely plotting something. What do you think?”

*Ah, why me again!*

Why him again! The aide began to rack his brain for an answer that would satisfy Jiang Zemin.

*Could it be that he really wanted to tour Hong Kong?*

Checking Bush’s itinerary, he was indeed enjoying Hong Kong’s infrastructure and scenery. He had spent ‘$1 million’ at a luxury store in Hong Kong.

You couldn’t say he wasn’t enjoying it. Considering that Bush was an oil tycoon before becoming President of the United States, it was hard to tell whether this was extravagant spending or consumption befitting his status. In any case, it was difficult to gauge Bush’s true intentions.

But that couldn’t be the case. The purpose of visiting China couldn’t be just tourism.

What is the American perspective? No, what is the national operating principle of the Bush administration? Of course, it was difficult to know for sure unless you were Bush himself, but at least one thing was clear from his actions so far.

That was, ‘Anyone who doesn’t like us dies.’

It was a somewhat extreme expression, but there was no more accurate way to express Pax Americana [American peace, a term used to describe periods of relative peace in the Western world resulting from the dominance of the United States]. However, the important thing here was the reason for dying, which was opposing the international order created by the United States.

And if you were to name a country that opposed the American order, China was at the forefront, competing with Russia. In American terms, it was the ‘axis of evil.’ Of course, the term ‘axis of evil’ had never come out of Bush’s mouth, but that’s how it would be expressed.

Anyway, the President of the United States is coming to such a China, and it’s for the purpose of friendship?

*What a load of crap.*

In times like these, it was better to be honest. He was a man who prioritized his own safety over his professional duty as an aide.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t have to be so nervous. I was just asking in case.”

Hearing those words, the aide could slightly relax the tension in his shoulders. Jiang Zemin, as if not even interested in the aide’s condition, was lost in his own world. The problem was that Jiang Zemin’s thoughts were not much different from the aide’s.

*What on earth is it? Shanghai Cooperation Organization? India? Sino-Russian relations? South China Sea dispute? Or is it Taiwan?*

Completely abandoning hopeful observations and thinking from a third-party perspective, the biggest possibility was Taiwan. When narrowing the view from East Asia to China, what the United States could pay attention to was Hong Kong and Taiwan. However, since there was nothing the United States could do about Hong Kong, the choice narrowed down to Taiwan by elimination.

Pushing Taiwan as a way to effectively pressure China was fatally effective. Of course, diplomacy was currently being conducted with only representative offices without embassies, but the United States was a country that could easily change its policies as easily as flipping its hand if it set its mind to it.

Especially, based on the intelligence gathered, George Bush, who was elected this year, was the kind of guy who could say to Jiang Zemin’s face, ‘We recognize Taiwan as a country and guarantee its legitimacy from this moment on! Got a problem? Come at me!’

But there was a fatal flaw in this hypothesis. If he was going to mention Taiwan in the first place, why would he come to China? He would just go to Taiwan from the beginning. Or at least visit Taiwan first, or at least have a schedule in Taiwan after China.

When you think about it, it was hard to understand why the meeting place was designated as Hong Kong. Why Hong Kong of all places?

*There must be something.*

With each tick of the second hand on the desk clock, it felt like one brain cell was going on strike. However, as long as Jiang Zemin was trapped within the bounds of common sense, he could not reach the truth no matter how much he pondered.

Because that George Bush was really thoroughly enjoying the streets of Hong Kong right now.

*Ah, I ate and played well!*

Some say that Hong Kong is a place where you can get anything if you have money, and that seemed to be true.

*The 2019 Hong Kong was full of protests.*

The Hong Kong that Kim Kap-hwan remembered was only the 9 o’clock news reports of protesters and police facing off. Bush wanted to see the real Hong Kong, not the Hong Kong edited for sensational reporting.

This was the reason Bush designated Hong Kong. While Jiang Zemin’s brain cells were on general strike, Bush was recovering his energy.

His eyes were delighted by the exotic scenery, and his tongue was delighted by the exotic food, so if his energy wasn’t recovered by this, what would it be recovered by? The biggest worry when traveling is money, but since he had a card with unlimited funds, he didn’t have to worry about that.

However, there was one thing he was worried about, and that was his wife.

“Chief of Staff. Wouldn’t she approve of this much?”

Bush entrusted a $1 million gift to his entourage. The gift was a ring, and like any other so-called luxury ring, it was one of a kind in the world.

“Considering the First Lady’s temperament, I think she will attach more significance to the fact that the President gave her something than the fact that the ring is worth $1 million.”

“Still, if you ask if a $10 bouquet of flowers is the same as a $1 million ring, that’s not true.”

“That’s true.”

The Chief of Staff readily agreed. Price didn’t represent sincerity, but that was only the case when money was scarce. If you had enough money and still didn’t give this much as a gift, it was no different from being a miser.

“How is the second gift coming along?”

“It’s almost finished. You should be able to receive it on the morning of the day you leave China.”

“Very good. Schedule the itinerary for the museum from tomorrow.”

“The museum?”

“I’d like it to be a history museum with a strong sense of archeology.”

“History?”

The Chief of Staff, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu from the word ‘history,’ pondered for a moment and then recalled that there was an excellent example of Iran just two days ago. The Chief of Staff decided to prepare as many documents as possible on the President’s office desk when he returned to the White House.

* * *

Time flew by, and finally, it was the day Bush was returning to the United States. Bush had enjoyed himself as much as he wanted, and Jiang Zemin’s annoyance had increased in proportion to the amount Bush had enjoyed. The resulting resentment of Jiang Zemin was beyond the level that the aide could handle.

However, this was the image of Jiang Zemin that the aide was feeling, and Jiang Zemin himself was actually feeling not just annoyance but even fear. They say the source of fear is the unknown, and there was nothing wrong with the old saying.

*I can’t just let the last day pass by.*

Jiang Zemin decided to negotiate.

However, this time it was closer to a dialogue than a meeting, but even that was just a nice way of putting it. Somehow, he ended up tagging along on Bush’s last museum visit.

“That’s a relic from the Qin Dynasty. Was it excavated from the Terracotta Army?”

“That’s right.”

Jiang Zemin was biding his time. And the focus was narrowed down to protesting the U.S. military presence. In the first place, it was best not to bring up topics about East Asian hegemony, including Taiwan and the South China Sea, and it was strange to bring up topics about Sino-Russian relations first.

He was planning to bring up the topic in earnest the moment he left the museum. It’s easy to get distracted in a museum.

“This is a porcelain from the Qing Dynasty. The balance is excellent.”

“The Qing Dynasty… How coincidental. I was just about to talk about the Qing Dynasty. I like the Qing Dynasty the most.”

Hearing Bush say that he liked the Qing Dynasty, Jiang Zemin’s expression changed somewhat strangely. It wasn’t just any era, but the Qing Dynasty? That’s because the Qing Dynasty wasn’t a good era for the Chinese. What made him feel even worse was that calm expression. Looking at his face, it didn’t seem like he was provoking him, which made him even more angry!

Perhaps it was rudeness born of ignorance. Ignorance is evil, and that saying was spot on.

Then there was a need to embrace ignorance. Jiang Zemin opened his mouth as if exhaling a sigh to control the anger raging inside him.

“What aspects of the Qing Dynasty do you like?”

“Compared to other eras, it is relatively clear in terms of historical aspects, and I also like the literary aspects such as Dream of the Red Chamber [also known as The Story of the Stone, one of China’s Four Great Classical Novels].”

Thanks to the Red Guards [a student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and utilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in the first phase of the Chinese Cultural Revolution], there were hardly any Chinese cultural assets left. Manchu Han Imperial Feast, the first metal type, and ancient military books were all burned down in the flames of madness caused by the Red Guards. Ironically, the vast number of cultural assets that remained even after this destructive movement passed proved that China was an ancient civilization.

In the case of Dream of the Red Chamber, it was even called Hongxue (紅學) [Redology, the academic study of Dream of the Red Chamber] and took the place of Chinese popular literature. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms was famous abroad, but Hongxue was several times more famous in China. There were so many researchers in the world after Shakespeare, so that’s all I have to say.

“The Cultural Revolution is recognized as a truly unfortunate event in China as well.”

“It’s a shame. If it weren’t for that, China could have built a museum the size of a city.”

This was sincere. In the first place, Bush wasn’t the type to plot anything, and he wasn’t a person who belittled history. Bush loved all the history in the world.

“Ah, especially the one I like the most.”

But more than that, he loved ‘teasing others’ more than anyone else in the world.

“It’s the fact that our country has ‘about 1 trillion’ in Qing Dynasty bonds.”

Jiang Zemin, who couldn’t even imagine the surprise gift, froze like a stone statue.

* * *

img

*Gift photo